I found this cymbal and I know its zildjian a. It's 14 inches and weighs 1358 grams, so I assume it's a hat bottom. I think I know what year/era it is, but I want to make sure.
Also, how do I go about figuring what weight hat top would match nicely?
And if this pic is too cruddy I'll try again.
That pic is too small for me to hazard a guess. Even with my new reading glasses. A bigger pic would help. Also a pic of the overall cymbal top and bottom would be great. Sometimes other production clues (bell shape, lathing or hammering style) tell you what the stamp quite can't confirm on its own.
Meanwhile, can you also tell us the height of the stamp?
That cymbal may also be a marching band cymbal (from a pair) rather than a hat bottom. Does it show the usual hat wear around the edge? If so then it's been used as a bottom (whatever Zildjian thought it should be when they sold it).
As to a good weight for a top to go with it...
Depends on what you are after. If you want New Beat style then maybe 900g (bottom is 1.5 times the top is a target ratio I use as a starting point). But 100g lighter or 100g heavier might be just right. It depends on more than just raw weight. The profile has an impact as well. Plus bell size, and how stiff it plays.
Sometimes what is "just right" can be well outside your expectation. Consider:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcanABdfqEQ[/ame]
which is 576g over 1065g.
If you want a more 80s sort of pairing then you might have 1100g on top or more.
For homework: Have a look around some online sites like mycymbal.com where they have lots of A Zildjian hats with sound files and weights. See what you like the sound of. See also hazelshould.com for lots of A Zildjian used hats with weights and sound files.
I found this cymbal and I know its zildjian a. It's 14 inches and weighs 1358 grams, so I assume it's a hat bottom. I think I know what year/era it is, but I want to make sure. Also, how do I go about figuring what weight hat top would match nicely?And if this pic is too cruddy I'll try again.
Even viewing it at 400% I could only hazard a guess. The three dots in the Arabic character are missing, but so much else is unclear. Its possible its a 50's trans stamp, or a 50's small stamp or a '50's large stamp, or a 70's stamp. Give us a sharper picture and we'll give you (hopefully) a better opinion.
I'm awful at getting pics of cymbals. These should be better.
There is a lot of patina on the cymbal, but the stamp itself seems very shallow.
It does also have the normal hat wear around the inside edge. Thanks for your tips on weight and the link to the site.
Jake
Looks 70s era to me.
Yep. 70s.
Lynn
